BEAUTY IN THE PARLOR: JOHN SHERIDAN at JAZZ AT CHAUTAUQUA (Sept. 21, 2012)

John Sheridan is a wonderful pianist (also arranger, composer, deep listener and jazz thinker). He is so dependable that I hope he doesn’t get overlooked in favor of more mercurial, showy improvisers.

But you could wake John in the middle of the night, say, “Get dressed. Your country needs you to swing right now,” and he would be do it. Sheridan is apparently tough on the outside (although polite) but a tender-hearted romantic on the inside. In the black-and-white 1931 crime film unreeling in my head, he is Cagney’s pal, a ferocious cop who gives money to the orphans.

But you don’t have to get distracted by my analogies. Rather, listen to the man play — as he did on Friday, September 21, 2012, at Jazz at Chautauqua.

Henry Nemo’s very lovely song ‘TIS AUTUMN (always appropriate but chronologically so on Sept. 21, 2012):

A small suite for Bix. First, his IN THE DARK:

Then, the justly famous IN A MIST:

A romantic interlude from the pre-GPS era, thanks to Frank Loesser, LET’S GET LOST:

From GUYS AND DOLLS, more from Loesser, I’VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE BEFORE:

And a Bob Zurke romp — all that motion in two minutes flat! EYE OPENER:

If your eyes are not open by now, go back to the beginning — da capo al fine — and savor what John does so beautifully!

2 responses to “BEAUTY IN THE PARLOR: JOHN SHERIDAN at JAZZ AT CHAUTAUQUA (Sept. 21, 2012)”

I talked to Henry Nemo on the phone in the late 90s. One of my customers said he lived on his block in Pacific Palisades and I said please have him call me and he did. What a treat! I thank him for ‘Tis Autumn and Don’t Take Your Love from Me. I should have mentioned I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart, but neglected to, but I mentioned Pass the Bounce and he laughed and said he had not thought of that one in years. We spoke for maybe ten minutes and I should have called back, but was too in awe. (same thing happened when I spoke with Helen Forrest on the phone a couple of years later.) Much awe.

Whatever your mood, listening to John Sheridan play, as no one else can, satisfies. You can sit back and dream with some, or sit up, smile and tap you toes with the other tunes. A beautiful post NM. Thank you.